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SPECIAL CHRISTMAS NUMBER
Member ot the Na
tional Catholic YVel-
fare Conference News
S! Service.
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Official Organ of the Catholic Laymens Association/Ceor^a
"TO BRING ABOUT A FRIENDLIER. FEELING AMONG GEORGIANS. IRRESPECTIVE OF CREED”
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TEN CENTS A COPY. VOL. XI., No. 24
AUGUSTA, GA., DECEMBER 20, 1930
ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY—$2.00 A YEAK.
Mexico Observes
Christmas Minus
Santa and Trees
But Celebration of Feast in
Southern Republic Is
Nevertheless Colorful
(By ALBERTO MARIA CARRENO)
(Written for N. C. W» C. News Ser
vice Christmas Supplement)
As in every country in Christen
dom, the Christmas season is observed
in Mexico, both in its religious and so
cial aspects. The celebration, of
course, centers about services in the
churches, but festivities in the homes
differ widely from those of her imme
diate neighbors to the north—the
United States.
In Mexico, Santa Claus is very lit
tle known and in few homes are
Christmas trees to be seen. One
event, or series of events, “Los Po
sadas,” or “The Lodging Houses,” is
characteristic of Mexico. The idea
is adapted from novenas which were
made in the churches and which re
called the travels of the Blessed Vir
gin and St. Joseph just prior to the
birth of the Christ Child.
“Las Posadas,” as they are now held
throughout Mexico, though noisy af
fairs are decidely not without their
religious application. The princi
pal actors are the “pilgrims, who
always include a pair portraying the
Holy Virgin and her husband come
to Bethlehem and searching for lodg
ings overnight
Generally the pilgrims start from
the church, the procession to the
homes starting after the reciting of
the litany. The Virgin rides on a
donkey and is escorted b-' St. Joseph
and an angel.
Arrived at the home of a citizen,
the pilgrims stand and sing. Gen
erations have sung their song. It
is probably the best known song in
Mexico.
After several verses are sung on
both sides, those within finally dis
cover that the pilgrims include the
Holy Virgin and her husband. The
doors are opened and the pilgrims
march within amid great jubilation.
Noise of all sorts accompanies their
entrance. Children play upon flutes,
whistles, timbrels, tambourines, etc.
Quiet follows and the novena is then
read. When this is over the host
distributes among his guests small
gifts consisting of souvenir toys made
of glass, chinaware, paper, etc. Each
toy is filled with candy.
Now comes the final and crowning
scene. In the patio, to which the
pilgrims and host repair, there hangs
a “pinata,” or big earthenware pot,
covered with gay-colored tissue pa
per. Some of the “pinatas” are
highly artistic and reflect the great
skill of their makers. They are sold
only during the Christmas season.
The pot is filled to the brim with
fruit, candies, peanuts, etc. One of
the pilgrims is blindfolded and he is
turned about several times until he
loses all sense of direction. He is
then provided with a long pole and
essays to break the pot. Often he
cannot even find it. Perhaps a sec
ond misses it Finally a well-direct
ed blow is delivered and the pot fs
broken. Its contents pour out and
the children scramble for the favors.
In recent years dancing on the nine
nights of the novena has been added
to the adult festivities of Christihas-
tide. In the homes, also, there is the
“Nacimiento,” which is a presenta
tion of a manger in which are fig
ures representing the Infant Jesus,
His Holy Mother and St. Joseph, sur
rounded by shepherds bearing their
tribute to the King of Kings.
Special suppers, too are served, as
typical as the Thanksgiving turkey
dinner in the United States. In the
absence of the Christmas tree, the
Nacimiento and other parts of the
house are decorated with branches of
pine with hay hanging from them.
In many homes the poinsettia,
Known here as the “flor de Noche
Buena” or Christmas flower appears
as the chief decoration.
It is only in recent years that the
practice of adults exchanging Christ
mas gifts has been taken up in Mexi
co. Likewise the ministrations of
Santa Claus to the Children are a
novelty. Gifts have been customary
in Mexico sometimes on New Year’
Day but more generally the exchange
of gifts occurs on January sixth and
is significant of the visit of the Three
Kings to the birthplace of the Sa
viour.
NOTRE DAME GRADUATE IS
“BABY” INDIANA
LEGISLATOR
DENVER, Colo. — Walter F. Stan
ton, 22-year-old Gary lawyer, who
received his law degree from Notre
Dame University last June, will be
the youngest member of the 1931
legislature of Indiana.
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BETHLEHEM
By THEODORE MAYNARD
Over the starlit
Glittering snow
The fir trees bend
Their branches low;
There an aged man
And a Maiden go.
But the village inn
Where the tapsters sit
With the surly host
Of little wit
Knows not the honor
Refused by it.
v 1
Only the stable’s ■.
Straw is spread
When the Virgin Mother
Comes to bed;
In the crook of her arm
Is her Baby’s head.
And the cattle gaze
With their humble eyes,
The dim wick showing
The Child who lies
Asleep. And the Magians
Search the skies-
The shepherds watching
The wattled fold
See night turned radiant
That had been cold.
Oh, the world is young
Which once was old!
So all poor men,
Wherever ye be,
Come warm your hearts
At this mystery:
For even as you are
So was He.
Ireland Clings
to Its Christmas
Customs of Old
Many Holiday Customs of
America May Be Traced to
Those of the Emerald Isle
(By Susan Russell)
(Written for N. C. W'. C. News Service
Christmas Supplement
Grandmother Ann O’Malley, on her
first visit to America in forty years,
does not wish it known just where
she is visiting, and even more so
does not wish it known that she
talked at all .for she is sure to tie
knots with her tongue,” if she does
talk, she says. But she did talk. She
talked about Christmas in Ireland!
She is typical old Irish Mother—a
regular Mother Machree—one would
think the song was written about
and for her. Although she is almost
seventy-one, she has no wrinkles in
her face, and the smile that is hers
would put to shame that of the Mona
Lisa.
We sat in the comfortable home,
and talked of the land that she
“knows like a book.” “How did you
know I was here—am here, I mean?
Well, I know you’re Irish by your
eyes, knew it before you said a word,
and so we’ll talk about the land that
is like a little heaven even if it does
fight sometimes. What shall wg talk
about—Christmas? The very thing.
Well . . . You know there is no
Santa Claus in Ireland. He is there,
to be sure, but he is called Father
Christmas, and the children hang up
the biggest sock they can find, just
like they do here. But . . . over
there the stockings are rarely filled
with anything but candy and fruits—
never with what is wanted.
“You know there is no Christmas
Eve anywhere in the world, like it
is in Ireland. That’s true, now, even
though I say it, and Ireland’s my
home. It is true in many particulars.
For instance, in Breland—in Irish
homes, and in the hearts of the Irish
people, you will always find a strange
mixture of the real and the dream
world. You will find that which is
hard and sane, and you will find,
too, that which is sentimental, folk
lore, legendary, and wholly impracti
cal. But above all else, you will find
the faith.
“So in Ireland, on Christmas Eve,
it will be holy-like and still, and
people will be goin’ to the chapel on
the hill, or the church in the town,
and that will be the religious Ire
land. Later on you’ll find the lads
and the lassies out lookin’ to see—
well, what they can find, for it do be
said in Ireland, that the Little People
are abroad to do good—and it do also
be said that Father Christmas is out
himself, to see who it is that feeds
the hungry and brings clothes to
them that needs them , . . The
Little People—sure I never saw them
—nor did anyone else—and I do not
want to see them, if they are there,
but I have lived in Ireland for many
a year, and I have yet to hear a
Banshee, or to see one of the Little
People. There are no more Little
People in Ireland than there are
fairies in America. But that is folk
lore Ireland—sentimental if you
will . . .
“The new Ireland is growing out
of the customs and ways of the old
land—getting more and more of the
new country, and perhaps in many
ways ’tis as well. But there is a
part of it—the heart of it, I might
better say, that will always be the old
land while a Shamrock grows there
There are too many shadows on its
hills, too many furrows in its heart,
ever to forget the old land. But in
the smoke of its new industries, its
bigger and better and broader ex
pansion, there is prosperity, too,
please God. wood for the fires,
patches for the thatched roofs, clothes
to keep the children warm, and food
to keep them from being hungry. If
it makes a contented Ireland, then
. . . well, then all will indeed be
well.
“You have many customs, here in
America, that were brought over the
seas by the Irish. For instance, you
have the lighted candles in the win
dows. Of course this candle must
be the first light in the house on
Christmas N-e, and it must not be
blown out, for it typifies the light
of faith. It must burn out. if you
would have luck the coming year.
This is a very old Irish tradition.
"The legend concerning it is a very
pretty one—but mind, now, I’m not
tellin’ this for truth. In the old land
it is told that the lighted candle is
placed in the windows for the Mother
and her Baby to pass safely through
the roads and streets where the poor
people live. But if this be true . . .
if this be true, then she never sees
the handsome candles and the
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